(L) ef - a tale of memories.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by komichi

God, I hate watching this series because it always make me think KyoAni, but overall I really am enjoying this anime, many things are exciting and beautiful. Inspired me enough to play the game.

I thought of KyoAni, too -- but only because the show was making me realize that Oonuma/Shinbou/Shaft are at a similar artistic level to KyoAni, even though their style is so different. I guess another similarity to KyoAni/Key is sad girls and super moe.

[ElementSun]

I love the storytelling of this series. I've always been a sucker for those multiple character arcs and how their paths intertwine, such as Lost, Heroes, and the pure brilliance of Crash.

This anime is a lot more profound than any other anime I've been keeping up with, though Clannad might just take the cake a few episodes in the futre. But, as of now, I will rank ef~A Tale of Memories as my #1 series of the season. Cheerio.

[relentlessflame]

By the way, this is one of those "oh shit..." realization moments (everyone else probably already figured this out), but it just clicked that the story Chihiro wants to write as per the end of episode 4 is, of course, the story that's plastered all over the OP (about the girl who's alone at the end of the world). "A tale of memories", huh... and now I'm thinking that somehow this is all connected to the two at the church, but I'm not quite sure how. This story is like some sort of bizarre puzzle where all the pieces are slowly coming together; I love it.

[ayako]

Same here about the story Chihiro wants to write. It's making me think that the animation is actually quite well thought out. Well, at some points anyway. Not sure how I feel about all those lipstick shots and the bright colors though... I liked how Hiro makes a remark about some color being absent from his world, and how Miyako's entrance just brightens up the screen. The colors are so muted when we see Hiro, but Miyako is just shiny. o_o

[FatPianoBoy]

Originally Posted by ayako

Not sure how I feel about all those lipstick shots and the bright colors though... I liked how Hiro makes a remark about some color being absent from his world, and how Miyako's entrance just brightens up the screen. The colors are so muted when we see Hiro, but Miyako is just shiny. o_o

Symbolism ftw. Episode four was like poetry in motion. Just absolutely beautiful on every level.

[guuchan]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

Spoiler for Ep4:

Nice she's trying since she knows he doesn't eat all that great, but....she made a fire cooking rice.

Spoiler:

Got to do Kei justice here: she made a fire while trying to pan fry a pork cutlet, not cooking rice. Now it would be scary if she managed to make a fire in the latter case.

[Ascaloth]

Either I finally got used to the SHAFT/Shinbo style, or otherwise they've improved by a lot, but I enjoyed Episode 4 far more than I thought I would. Despite a few animation bloopers (C'mon, the hell is that with Kei running in the distance?! It's completely messed up!), a great deal of the overall animation was quite simply, kami-sakuga class. Even the Shinbo-WTFness didn't turn me off so much this time round, and a lot of it even suited the story as it is.

Then we come to the story; while the Hiro-Miyako-Kei thread still doesn't look like being anything more than your typical love triangle, and the Kyousuke one still looks to be going nowhere by the looks of it, I felt the Chihiro-Renji one is shaping up to be something pretty special. Easily my favourite of the story threads, and I can really feel the emotion when Chihiro was screaming her frustration at other people knowing her better than she does herself. I like it, but I really wish the disparate story threads would come together sometime soon; 12 episodes really isn't a lot of time to play around with.

If there were an episode rating for this, it would get an 8. I hope this is an indication that ef can only get better as we go along; if that's the case, I'll be glad I stuck with it.

[frustra]

Ef definitely is getting better. Getting more used to the art style. Loved the ED song played in ep 4.

[Deathkillz]

ahh ef ^^
this series is improving bit by bit and it shows...the story is lovely and the telling of it is unique enough to improve the image of what could have just been a pretty standard adaption.

ep 4 ~

the situation here with hiro, miyako and kei is really quite straight forward. kei is almost destined to have her heart broken looking ah how she retains her "little sister" image whereas miyako really is going in for the kill...i cant fault hiro for doing anything wrong (which is a nice change seen as a lot of harem series focuses on how badly males can screw up). in fact i wont even say that it is kei's fault for loving someone...its just that her situation is just unfortunate. we see that she tries hard to appeal to hiro but ends up bing a step too late.

ahh the classic "i cant cook for shat" cliche never gets old XD i loved hiro's reaction towards miyako before sampling her food ^^

the end was pretty depressing for kei...in the end she is a tomboy with a feeble heart ;__;

and just when i thought this whole ep will be focusing on hiro...in jumps chihiro and renji for some more drama.

i can fully understand why chihiro refuses to write a novel...i mean what is to become of her if the only reason to live turns out to be something wrong? for someone like chihiro it would just be her world crashing down. but it seem that will soon change if her dream is to be with renji as they write a novel together...renji wont be going anywhere so that may be the road to happiness for such a weak girl...

and i can then just see renji getting in some accident as fate plays with chihiro's emotions *shakes angry fist*

some great set up for more drama

[Shiroth]

Juicy episode four drama. <3

Like i already said, even though you could see where this was going the second Kei picked up that cook book, i still very much enjoyed seeing it being played out. Plenty of Miyako goodness also, which was a nice treat.

Quite happy with how Renji/Chihiro ended this episode. Not only impressive to watch, it's just that now i have to start thinking how this one can go wrong (something to do with her memory i guess), 'cause it's to early for happiness.

[FlareKnight]

Originally Posted by guuchan

Spoiler:

Got to do Kei justice here: she made a fire while trying to pan fry a pork cutlet, not cooking rice. Now it would be scary if she managed to make a fire in the latter case.

Spoiler:

Well suppose it's a relief she didn't manage to get rice set on fire. I mean sure my rice cooking experience isn't that high but pretty sure you shouldn't be able to do that. Though after the rice disaster why on earth would she put the world at risk with pork cutlet? Just stick to something safe...like toast.

No doubt you just knew things were going to go bad when Kei picked up that cook book. Honestly thought it would happen quickly but they saved it for near the end. Not like anyone necessarily did something wrong that's just how it ended up.

Miyako is just going right to it. Without any past relationship or view of her to get in the way of it. A bond is forming nicely with her and Hiro even though he spends most of the time denying any such thing . She encourages him knowing the pain his wrist gives him. She plays around and really is a splash of colour to his life.

Always seems to find a way to get him embarrassed as well. Finding that book of all things. I'm sure it really was just for artistic purposes . No really have no idea since my drawing ability probably equals Kei's cooking.

No doubt writing a story when your memory lasts 13 hours is tough. Would have to read everything you've done and then find a way to keep it going. Get tougher along the way.

[Ichigo91]

[Deathkillz]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

Spoiler:

Well suppose it's a relief she didn't manage to get rice set on fire. I mean sure my rice cooking experience isn't that high but pretty sure you shouldn't be able to do that. Though after the rice disaster why on earth would she put the world at risk with pork cutlet? Just stick to something safe...like toast.

toast can be poisonous at the hands of kei...not to mention charcoal ^^

No doubt writing a story when your memory lasts 13 hours is tough. Would have to read everything you've done and then find a way to keep it going. Get tougher along the way.

though got chihiro its so much more than forgetting about the plot bla bla...i really feel for her pain and while i initially questioned what he called renji mean - it the hit me that he was being pretty mean to impose his thoughts on her like that - especially when he doesnt know her feelings. (but hearing her say that he knows her better than she does still hurts ;__; )

[SvenTheSweeper]

Finally, with episode 4 there is a satisfying payoff for sticking with the story, characters, and sometimes off-the-wall visual aesthetics. This was a fulfilling episode for me to experience. Too bad there wasn’t a poll for this show, I’d give it a 9 out of 10. The various stories have started to solidity and converge. The “what” and “why” of each character’s motivation and history are clearer now.

I am eager to see how the following themes play out:

Spoiler for epsiode 4:

• The dichotomy of Hiro’s past which is connected by Kei (i.e. how she and Chihiro inspired him to draw when they were kids), and the possibilities of the present and future connected with Miyako (i.e. she brought color into Hiro’s life) [scene 12:11-13.25 of fansub].

• Renji‘s attempt to help Chihiro write her fairy tale, thereby give giving her continuity to her aspiration and thoughts, but both having to resolve the fear of telling her story. I am eager to see how they deal with the tension between struggling for what you want and the fear of failing that comes with it.

• How someone can know your own story (and therefore memories) more than you, in this case Renji knowing Chihiro’s story than her.

Finally, thanks for the great discussion between Klashikari and Kaoru Chujo on what they liked or didn’t like about episode 4. Your thoughtful posts helped me think about this show in a different way, and therefore enjoy it more.

[grey_moon]

Spoiler for thoughts on epi4:

I am so hooked on Chihiro. I feel such despair for her situation and I really hope that Renji and the book idea doesn't let her down. The confession was wonderful, I so liked the way how Renji just got to the point and Chihiro's reply was great too.

A shy boy would have killed me with frustration, so I am glad Renji isn't of that type and he seems like a nice lad too. I just hope he is able to meet my expectations of being able to support Chihiro in the way that will grant her some form of happiness. It's terrible that she can't remember anything for more then 12(?) hours, but to have such morbid thoughts is horrifying.

Not much to say about the rest apart from Hiro's reaction to girl's cooking was priceless.

I personally like the animation style and I like the story in general.

I am loosing the really worried feeling I had when I first started watching in regards to camera boy doing the nasty to Chihiro which is good as I don't want to see that happen.

[Skyfall]

Well, ep4 was a fairly good entry, but i think i liked ep3 more. At first i was not overly interested in Kei / Miyako / Hiro, but this episode set a spark to my interest finally. Miyako sure manages to be quite the cheerful girl, despite Hiro being rather grumpy. Definitely the speck of colors in his life Speaking of which, poor Hiro must have been traumatized by Kei's cooking to have such an aversion to home-made food Well, looks like that is going to change soon Miyako looks like a pretty sure winner in this situation, as i can hardly picture Hiro looking at Kei in romantic light.

As for Chihiro and Renji ... i think i have finally figured out why the whole thing doesn't sit well with me, despite me being quite interested in this story. The two simply don't seem to be on the same wavelength and lack chemistry in their interactions. Renji is quite the naive "white knight" ... i feel he is too simple minded for her. He is not exactly good at reading the mood and such, which would be quite important with Chihiro.

But there is something else that bothered me about the whole beach scene. Heck, I think i am getting used to the far camera pans (or too tired to complain about it all the time). Heck, i am even learning not to cringe at SHAFTs "art". But choppy animation is not about to stop bugging me anytime soon, and sadly it seems SHAFT doesn't believe in smooth movements. The budget allocation doesn't seem even - while some of the sceneries are simply amazing, but characters seem to get the shorter end of stick. The Art is not bad in itself, but animation is lacking.

Chihiro's lip sync was off during her emotional moments, and her Seiyuu's somewhat 'indifferent' performance at times was not exactly convincing either. Oh, and what the heck is this pose ? I think i was about to head-butt my keyboard at that scene, which was over-dramatized to the point of being corny. I enjoyed the first part of the episode a lot more, because whatever impact the second half might have had was ruined by the sum of all the issues. When i am distracted by low production values in some are i can't exactly feel for the story ... which is how i felt in the second half.

Hu well - lets see what the next ep brings

[FatPianoBoy]

Originally Posted by Skyfall

what the heck is this pose ? I think i was about to head-butt my keyboard at that scene, which was over-dramatized to the point of being corny.

I liked that scene. At first glance, it looks like the wave in the background is about to hit her, but she collapses without getting even a drop on her. It illustrated how she was basically tearing herself down and only using Renji's proposal as an excuse to feel sorry for herself. Ah, I love symbolism...

[Ascaloth]

One other thing I'm curious about; from what has been inferred from Hiro's past so far, it seems that he was born into a rich family. Moreover, Kei's confession that she was at fault for causing him to have to work....I wonder what happened?

As to the animation...I've realized it jumps pretty severely between "OMFGOSHTHATSBEAUTIFUL" and "WTFTHATSUGLYASHECK", with almost nothing in between. It's kinda hard to rate SHAFT/Shino for animation quality, when inconsistency accompanies beauty.

[FlareKnight]

Originally Posted by Ascaloth

One other thing I'm curious about; from what has been inferred from Hiro's past so far, it seems that he was born into a rich family. Moreover, Kei's confession that she was at fault for causing him to have to work....I wonder what happened?

Well could be that his family expected Hiro to be an artist or something along those lines. Maybe when he expressed interest in drawing manga and going the route he wanted they gave an old our way or the highway. Since Kei and Chihiro sparked his interest in manga that could be it.

Am curious about Miyako's family. She seemed pretty quick to change the subject when Hiro brought it up. Might be something going on there.

[Gaara133]

Wow I literally just started watching this series (first 4 minutes into episode 1) and this seems like an epic anime just by the music!